Durbin Statement On Sessions Reversing Course On Plan To Undermine Due Process In Immigration Courts

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), ranking member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, released the following statement after Attorney General Jeff Sessions said at an Appropriations Subcommittee hearing that there would be “no pause” in the Justice Department’s Legal Orientation Program (LOP), which provides basic legal information to detained immigrants about their rights and the immigration court process:

“Attorney General Sessions’ reversal on stopping the LOP is a victory for due process and common sense.”

Last week, Durbin joined Judiciary Committee members in the House and Senate in calling on Sessions to continue the Legal Orientation Program. Two weeks ago, the Justice Department halted the program, which informs more than 50,000 detained non-citizens every year about their legal rights and responsibilities and improves the efficiency of immigration courts. The Trump Administration is also imposing unprecedented case quotas that threaten the independence of immigration judges and further undermine due process for immigrants.